Signal-governing apparatus



A. I. WOODRING.

SIGNAL GOVERNING APPARATUS.

, AFPLECM'ION FILED JULY i, 1921.

Patenwd Apia 18, 1922.

Illlillllllli I71 pan to 7-, A.I. Wo 'dring,

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ALBERTO-I. WOODRING, or WA'IEELOO, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO THE a. I. WOODRINGCOMPANY, or wA'rnRLoo, IOWA. I

SIGNAL-GOVERNING APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERTO I. lVooDRINo, a citizen of the-United Statesof'America, and a resident of Waterloo, Blackhawk County, Iowa, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Signal-Governingapparatus, of which the following is a specification.

. valve to provide signal blasts and intervals therebetween ofpredetermined durations successively.

This object I have accomplished by the means which are hereinafterdescribed and claimed, and which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which Fig. l is an elevation of my signal governingapparatus as operatively connected to a whistle, and Fig. 2 is anelevation, in partial section, of the resiliently-controlleddetent-carrying winding-drum device.

Similar numerals of reference denote corresponding parts throughout theseveral views.

Locomotive engineers are required to cause diiierent whistle signalsto'be made at different places and for different purposes, andparticularly are generally required to have'a certain signal made athighway-crossings, consisting of two. blasts of the. whistle- 01": twoseconds duration each, separated by a one second interval,'the secondblast being 'Followed by a one second interval with following two blastsof the whistle of one sec.-

' ond duration each, separated by a one second interval, a total'of nineseconds in all. It is, however, often not possible for the engineer tomanually control exactly the respective durations of saidblasts'and'their'intervals, for his attention is required for otherduties. I

My improved apparatus for effecting this proper sequence of blasts andtheir intervals in the required durations thereof may be .manuallyactuated reactively upon a single traction of a pull-cord and itsrelease so that the attention of the engineer is not distracted from asimultaneous duty.

In my device the numeral 1 denotes a Specification of Letters Patent.Patented Apr. 18, 1922.

Application filed July 1, 1921'. Serial No. 481,986. r

well-known type of locomotive steam-whistle controlled by a valve whoseoutwardly proyecting stem 2 is shifted to open the valve by means of apivoted lever 3. The numeral 41 denotes a pull-cord connected to aterminal eye in the lever 23 in the usual way but having its other endconnected to an eye in a'bar 5 which has on its opposite end an orificedangularly extending ear 5'. A short rod 6 is positioned parallel withthe bar 5, has a rigid fillet 6 and a diminished terminally thread edpart 8 passed through the orifice in the ear 5 with an adjusting nut onits outer end, a

coiled compression spring 7 being mounted on said diminished partbetween the ear 5 and said fillet 6. A hanger 27 is secured to someelevated support rigidly and has a lateral'projection 11 with a terminalabutment 12. On one side face of the projection 11, a lever 13 ispivoted near its curved lower end on a pintle 14, said curved lower endhaving an ofiiset shoulder 15 crossing it is indicated by the dottedline. The numeral 17 denotes a terminally forked element pivoted to thecurved part of the lever 13 on a pintle 16. An antifriction roller 18 ispivotally mounted between the parts of the element 17, and the oppositeend ofsaid element is extended far enough so that the'shoulder 15 servesas a stop to limit movement thereof in one direction. In the longer partof the lever 13 isan lar form rigidly bracketed on the opposite face ofthe hanger 27, and its lower vertical memberis medially orificed toreceive a rockshaft 20 on one end of which a windingdrum 19 is fixedlymounted whose circumferential groove receives a pull-cord 25 having aterminal handle 26,'the other endof the cord being secured in saidgroove. One circumferential edge of said drum has a group ofcircumferentially spaced radial projections 21., 22. 23 and 24E, ofwhich the projections 21 and 22 are of the same narrow circumferentialwidth while the other projections 23 and 2st are oi the same and a widercircunrferen'tial width. Allthe intervals between said projections areof the same circumierential width. As shown, these relative widths orprojections and interspaces are predetermined and in a certainadjustment of the aparatus and while the drum 19 is rocking in onedirection reactively, the projections and their intervals will operateto cause blasts of the whistle 1 of a duration and separated byintervals of silence, such as was hereinbefore mentioned.

A spring-barrel 29 is formed rigidly on the lower part of the hanger 27and has an integrally conjoined dash-pot 30'011 its end opposite thewinding-drum 19, both the spring-barrel and dash-pot having alinedbearing-openings to receive the rock-shaft 20 through certain of theirwalls, but the end of said shaft extends only far enough into the cavityof the dash-pot to carry a crankarm 32 whose crank-pin has mountedthereon an anti-friction roller 33 seated in a horizontal groove in asolid piston 34; reciprocable within the dash-pot which is nearly filledwith a cushioning fluid such as oil; A spiral spring 31 is positionedwithin the barrel 29 around the shaft 20, with its inner end fastened tothe shaft, and its outer end fastened to the barrel.

W/Vhen the pull-cord 25 is pulled downwardly, it rocks the drum 19 inthe direction indicated by the arrow, placing the spring 31 undertension and moving down the piston 34: to cushion the end of the stroke.As the projections 21 to 24; move upwardly, they successively contactwith the roller 18 and rock the element 17 without actuating the lever13. When the pull-cord 25 is released, the spiral spring 31reacts torock the drum 19 oppositely, and as the projections 21 to 24.-successively contact with and rock the element 17 downwardly, the outerend of the element being engaged with the shoulder 15, causes the lever13 to rock toward said drum imparting a movement to the right to thewhistle-lever 3 as each projection trips said element 17 at thepredetermined like intervals. The upper edges of the projections 21 to24 are straight and radial but the lower or opposite edges thereof areslopingly curved so as to prolong their action in connection with therespective different widths of the projections to cause the whistle togive blasts of the required durations as determined by the length ofstroke of the lever 13 as adjustably connected by the pintle 10 to therod 6. The spring 7 has a cushioning effect upon these interlinkedconnections to prevent injurious shocks during actuation and at the endthereof.

The abutment 12 on the bracket 11 limits movement to the left of theupper part of the lever l3.

It is obvious that slight changes or modifications in the elements andtheir arrange ment in this apparatus are included in the scope of thisinvention, and that the appa V ratus may in principle, be applied toactuate other species of signals as desired.

Having described my invention, what I raiaeeo means adapted to beinitially set by a single manual impulse and connected thereto tooperate it automatically reactively in a predetermined succession of''actuations and intervals between actuations.

8. In combinatioma signaling device, and

means connected thereto to operate it in a predetermined succession ofvariably timed actuations and intervals between actuations. at. Incombination, a signaling device, and means connected thereto to operateit in an adjustably variable succession of actuations separated byadjustably variable intervals.

5. In combination, a signaling device, and an operating device thereforconnected thereto, said operating device including an elastic element,means for placingsaid element under tension releasably, and mechanismadapted to be operatedby said'elastic element after being placed undertension, and then released to actuate said signaling device atsuccessive intervals.

6. In combination, a signaling device, and an operating device thereforconnected thereto, saidoperating device including tensionable reactionmeans adapted to be set initially by a single manual power impulse andthen to reactively automatically operate said signaling device in adesired number of successive actuations, with the timing of saidactuations and their intervals predetermined.

. 7 In combination, a signaling device, and

an operating device therefor connected,

thereto, comprising a rocking element having a plurality of spacedprojections, the

projections and their interspaces being of predetermined widths, a leverfulcrumed to be engaged and moved by said projections while said elementis rocked in one direction only, and linking connections between saidlever and said signaling device.

8. In combination, a signaling device, and an operating device thereforconnected thereto for manual actuation thereof, comprising a rockingelement having circumferential projections separated by spaces, bothsaidprojections and spaces beingof predetermined widths, a resilient elementconnected to said. rocking element, means for tensioning said resilientelement releasably while rocking said rocking element to one position, apivoted lever operatively connected to said signaling device adjustably,

and having thereon a pivoted terminal element engageable yieldably withsaid proall jections While the resilient means is being tensioned, andengageable non-yieldingly with said projections while said resilientmeans is reacting.

9. In combination, a whistle signal having an operating valve, a pivotedlever operable to actuate said valve, a rocking element having aplurality of circumferential projections of predetermined difierentWidths, separated by spaces of predetermined widths, a pivoted-leverhaving a pivoted terminal and means for limiting movement of saidterminal in one direction, said terminal being positioned in the path ofrotation of said projections to yieldingly engage them While the rockingelement is rocked in one direction and to engage them releasably to rockthe second-mentioned lever while the said element is rocked in anopposite direction, adjustable resilient linking-means between saidlevers, a yieldable resilient body connected between said-rockingelement and a fixed support, means for manually rocking said rockingelement in a direction to place said resilient bodyunder tensionreleasably, and means for cushioning the rocking element at either limitof its rocking movement.

10. A device of the character described, comprising aresiliently-controlled element manually actuable releasably in onedirection, a movable contact-device, said element having means forsuccessively moving said contact-device at desired intervals anddurations only While the element is in reactive movement in anotherdirection after being manually actuated and then released, and operativeconnections between said contactdevice and a movable actuating elementof a signaling-device. I

Signed at l Vaterloo, Iowa, this 16th day of June, 1921.

ALBERTO I. WOODRING.

